A St. Paul man has been charged with breaking into the home of St. Paul mayoral candidate Melvin Carter and taking two handguns, a video game system, cigars and a child’s tooth.

Larobin S. Scott, 24, was charged Friday in Ramsey County District Court with one count of first-degree burglary for allegedly breaking into Carter’s home on Aurora Avenue on Aug. 15. Scott was charged with the same count in the burglary of a home on Carrol Street on Oct. 9, 2016.

According to the complaints: Carter received a text from a neighbor about 11:07 a.m. stating that someone was in his home. Carter returned home and saw a suspect in his backyard.

The suspect, who had a black backpack, jumped a fence and ran. Carter followed him and identified the car and license plate of the getaway car. The suspect had jumped into the passenger seat.

Police stopped the car two days later and identified Scott as the driver. The car’s license plates were missing, and it sported a fraudulent temporary registration paper that was later found to have been fashioned out of a receipt taken from Carter’s home.

Police found the matching license plates in the car, along with items taken from Carter’s home, including a duffel bag with firearm paraphernalia and ammunition, cigars and a plastic bag containing the tooth.

David Joles, Star Tribune

St. Paul mayoral candidate Melvin Carter, pictured at a forum in April.

“The experience of a home invasion is a traumatic one for myself and my family, especially my children,” Carter said in August.

Chao Xiong is a public safety reporter for the Star Tribune covering St. Paul and Ramsey County. He previously worked as a state reporter and Minneapolis general assignment reporter.